Reverend George Stevens
The Reverend George Stevens (previously known as "The Reverend Mr Stevens") made his first appearance on 10 January 2005. He is portrayed by Michael Keating. He is the vicar of Walford. Storylines He first appears to discuss Freddie Mitchell's christening with his mother Little Mo in 2005. Following this, he appears to discuss Den Watts and Chrissie Watts' vow renewals, and conducts the funerals of Neil and Sue Miller, Nana Moon, Dennis Rickman, Pauline Fowler and Frank Butcher. Stevens occasionally visits Dot Branning to discuss her faith, including following the death of her friend Pauline and Dot's struggle when she takes on the responsibility of caring for a refugee baby. In December 2008, he returns, after Dot donates a substantial amount of money to have the church roof repaired. He feels it is his need to investigate whether Dot has donated from her own life savings but she does not want to make a fuss. In March 2009, he arranges plans for Peggy Mitchell's wedding to Archie Mitchell, and also conducts Amy Mitchell's christening in April and May 2009. In January 2010, he performs Archie's funeral. Stevens is also seen in March, conducting Bradley Branning's funeral. In September, he meets Heather Trott and Minty Peterson to talk about a christening for Heather's baby son George, and is confused about Heather and Minty's relationship. The next week he conducts the christening. In October 2010, Max Branning arranges for him to visit his sister Carol Jackson following the death of her son, Billie Jackson, but Carol gets angry as Billie was not religious. In October 2011, he conducts a funeral of a local man, but Dot's sister, Rose Cotton, who works in the doctor's surgery, fears she mistakenly killed the man by misplacing his test results. Stevens tells her the patient died of a bee sting, and a relieved Rose then flirts with him, much to the chagrin of Dot. A few days later, Dot reveals Rose's colourful past to Stevens. However, he is intrigued, and he and Rose share a drink at The Queen Victoria public house, as he wants to know more about her life. At a church social event, the pair become closer, resulting in Stevens asking for Dot's blessing to date Rose. He, Dot and Rose later attend a Mayoral banquet, and on their return to Walford, they announce that the Olympic torch for the 2012 Summer Olympics will be passing through Walford. When Stevens visits Rose to invite her out, he finds that she has spent the night with Patrick Trueman. In January 2012, he conducts Pat Evans's funeral. On Maundy Thursday, he performs the rite of washing feet on Dot and comforts her following the death of Heather. In May 2012, he speaks to Janine Butcher and Michael Moon about their upcoming wedding, as Janine has decided on a church wedding for them. Michael tells Stevens that Janine is Jewish and has had three previous husbands, and Janine decides against the church wedding as a result. In June he conducts the christening at the hospital of Michael and Janine's daughter Scarlett. In April 2013, Stevens visits Dot to ask why she has not attended Mass on Easter Sunday. Her friend Fatboy tells Stevens that Dot is about to lose her home, so Stevens convinces her that she has not sinned in the eyes of God.2 He conducts Michael's funeral in November 2013.3 He appoints Dot as Church Warden and gets her to raise funds to fix the church roof. He appears on Christmas Eve to conduct a carol service. Stevens conducts the funeral of Jim Branning in April 2015. He first discusses the arrangements with Carol and Max is rude to Stevens and tries to get him to leave. Carol sends Max away and Stevens is sympathetic. When Stevens asks who will be reading the eulogy at the funeral, Carol tells him that they will not be having one. At the funeral, Stevens is pleased to see Dot, who has been granted day release from prison in order to attend. Stevens is shocked and outraged during the funeral when Max delivers a damning eulogy about his father, and tries to get him to stop but Max ignores him. In July 2016, Stevens conducts Peggy's funeral. In December 2016, Stevens appears when a nativity play is held at the church, which Lily Branning and Amy perform in. Stevens greets Lily's mother Stacey Fowler and stepfather Martin Fowler as they arrive at the church to watch the performance. Stevens later speaks to Roxy Mitchell after he discovers her sitting alone in the Square gardens, depressed. She tells him that she feels like she is a bad mother to Amy and has let her down all her life. Stevens reassures Roxy that strong people can bear to hurt themselves for the good of others. In January 2017, Stevens conducts the joint funeral of Roxy and her sister Ronnie Mitchell. In September 2017, he retires and moves to Australia to live with his daughter and is replaced by Reverend Irene Mills. Services Christenings *Freddie Mitchell's 2005 *Amy Mitchell 's in 2009 Weddings *Peggy Mitchell and Archie Mitchell's in 2009 *Den Watts and Chrissie Watts Vow Renewals 2005 Funerals *Neil and Sue Millers in 2005 *Nana Moon's in 2006 *Dennis Rickman's in 2006 *Pauline Fowler's in 2007 *Frank Butcher's in 2008 *Jim Branning's in 2015 Mass * Advent, Christmas 2015 Gallery Reverend George Stevens Last Appearance (28 September 2017).jpg|Reverend Mr Stevens Last Appearance (28 September 2017) Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Past Characters Category:Recurring Characters Category:Vicars Category:Stevens Family Category:2005 Arrivals Category:2017 Departures